A three-way conversation, or trialogue, in two parts. Part 2 How is human imagination related to the creative principle of nature? The nature of the Gaian mind. Human history as a Gaian dream. The Divine Imagination as the source of all creativity. How can we extract the message of the Gaian mind? How could the imaginations of the solar system, galaxy and cosmos be related to each other? Dark matter and the cosmic unconscious. The nature of the Logos. The personal apocalypse. The journey of lang...
Nov 22, 2022•45 min•Season 2Ep. 66
A talk Rupert gave at a symposium on the philosophy of form Cambridge University in May 2022. A long debate about the nature and causes of forms has been going on at least since the time of ancient Greece, and within the sciences has been most hotly contested in relation to the morphogenesis of plants and animals. Since the seventeenth century, mechanists – still the dominant orthodoxy – have tried to explain morphogenesis in terms of material causes present in eggs, whereas vitalists and holist...
Nov 15, 2022•55 min•Season 2Ep. 65
A three-way conversation, or trialogue, in two parts. Part I The crisis in science: collision between the permanent and evolutionary views of the nature of reality. The universe as an evolving system of habits. Did natural law exist before the Big Bang? Cosmic creativity, imagination and the womb of chaos. Chaotic sudden perturbations. The Omega Point. The ego's response to chaos. The cosmic attractor in the evolutionary process. This Trialogue and others are available in book form: https://www....
Nov 08, 2022•46 min•Season 1Ep. 64
A three-way conversation, or trialogue, recorded at Esalen in 1989. A discussion on the evolution of consciousness as it relates to machines. Symbolic logic, nanotechnology and the possibility of a synthetic super-intelligence. Artificial Intelligence as a part of ourselves that could shape our evolution. Virtual computers as the source of the AI. Partnership or conflict between human and machine? How much control do we have in the evolution of machine intelligence? Challenges to the premises of...
Nov 01, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 63
Rupert speaks with Paul Kingsnorth [author, deputy editor of The Ecologist], and Dr Philip Goff [author, Professor of Philosophy at Durham University] about the possible benefits of religious practices, without their associated beliefs. This is part of the _Meeting of the Minds_ series offered by The Weekend University https://theweekenduniversity.com/about/ Paul Kingsnorth is a former journalist and deputy editor of The Ecologist magazine who has won several awards for his poetry and essays. He...
Oct 25, 2022•1 hr 17 min•Season 1Ep. 62
This excerpt is from the Institute of Art and Ideas debate "Fantasy and the void" featuring Slavoj Žižek, Rupert Sheldrake and Jennifer Ratner-Rosenhagen. Wes Alwan hosts. Watch the full talk: https://iai.tv/video/fantasy-and-the-void The Institute of Art and Ideas features videos and articles from cutting edge thinkers discussing the ideas that are shaping the world, from metaphysics to string theory, technology to democracy, aesthetics to genetics. Slavoj Žižek is a globally renowned philosoph...
Oct 18, 2022•6 min•Season 1Ep. 61
A three-way conversation, or trialogue, recorded at Esalen in 1989. What could have been the cause for the breakthrough in the evolution of human consciousness around 50,000 years ago? Collective memories of predation and how they may shape our minds today. The role of the imagination in our evolution. Physiological evolution and the idea of divine brain surgery. The psilocybin hypothesis. The transformation of human nature through connection with higher levels of consciousness in the universe. ...
Oct 11, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 60
In this introduction to the trialogues held at Hazelwood house in Devon, England in June 1993, Rupert, Ralph and Terence introduce each other and give their perspectives on their friends' lives, characters and work. Terence McKenna was an ethnopharmacologist, shamanologist, and author, known for his theories on plant hallucinogens and the novelty wave, and the bardic skill with which he conveyed his ideas. Sadly Terence died aged 53 on April 3, 2000. Ralph Abraham, PhD, is a Professor of Mathema...
Oct 04, 2022•39 min•Season 1Ep. 59
Hollyhock, 2007 Andrew Weil, MD, is a world-renowned pioneer in the field of integrative medicine, an approach to health care which encompasses body, mind, and spirit. Rupert and Andrew had a series of conversations over eight years at Hollyhock, on Cortes Island, BC, Canada.
Sep 27, 2022•31 min•Season 1Ep. 58
Hollyhock, 2007 Andrew Weil, MD, is a world-renowned pioneer in the field of integrative medicine, an approach to health care which encompasses body, mind, and spirit. Rupert and Andrew had a series of conversations over eight years at Hollyhock, on Cortes Island, BC, Canada.
Sep 20, 2022•51 min•Season 1Ep. 57
A talk given on September 2nd, 2022 at the Hollyhock retreat center on Cortes Island, BC Canada. Hollyhock exists to inspire, nourish and support people who are making the world better. Their not-for-profit learning centre offers extraordinary leadership programs to advance consciousness, connection & cultural transformation. https://www.hollyhock.ca/
Sep 13, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 56
Hollyhock, 2009 Andrew Weil, MD, is a world-renowned pioneer in the field of integrative medicine, an approach to health care which encompasses body, mind, and spirit. Rupert and Andrew had a series of conversations over eight years at Hollyhock, on Cortes Island, BC, Canada.
Sep 01, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 55
A live conversation with Dr Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes at the Hay Festival, How the Light Gets In, September 2021. Dr Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes, PhD, is Research Fellow of philosophy and psychedelics and associate lecturer at the University of Exeter, specializing in philosophy of mind with emphasis on Whitehead, Nietzsche, and Spinoza, and in the fields of panpsychism and altered states of consciousness. http://www.philosopher.eu Produced by iai, The Institute of Art and Ideas Philosophy for our times: ...
Aug 12, 2022•30 min•Season 1Ep. 54
From the 2012 annual meeting of the Scientific and Medical Network. Peter Fenwick is the current president of the Scientific and Medical Network. He was a senior lecturer at King’s College, London, the Consultant Neuropsychologist at both the Maudsley and John Radcliffe hospitals, and has been part of the editorial board for a number of journals, including the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, the Journal of Consciousness Studies and the Journal of Epilepsy and Behaviour. https...
Jul 26, 2022•45 min•Season 1Ep. 53
The Perrott-Warrick public debate: Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Nov 29, 2006. Chaired by Professor Simon Blackburn.
Jul 12, 2022•1 hr 17 min•Season 1Ep. 52
The Society for Psychical Research Study Day on Skeptics: London, October 25 2008. Read a review of the day's proceedings by Matt Colborn: https://www.skepticalaboutskeptics.org/examining-skeptics/matt-colborn-sprs-study-day-on-skeptics/
Jul 04, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 51
A dialogue with Joseph Milne on nature and science in our modern world, which took place at the Temenos Academy on July 13, 2009.
Jun 28, 2022•1 hr 24 min•Season 1Ep. 50
London Society for Psychical Research, November 4, 2017 Many animals make remarkable migrations across vast distances, often without ever personally making the trip or having any obvious method of navigating. Recorded on November 4, 2017 at the Society for Psychical Research in London.
Jun 21, 2022•35 min•Season 1Ep. 49
This is dialogue on angels with Father Bede Griffiths, Rupert's principal teacher, and the only public dialogue they ever had. Recorded in Munich in 1992 at the Benedictine Abbey of St Boniface on September 29, the feast of St Michael and All Angels. Father Bede, also known as Swami Dayananda, was a British-born priest and Benedictine monk who became a noted yogi in South India and was a part of the Christian Ashram Movement. Recorded in Munich at the Benedictine Abbey of St Boniface, on Septemb...
Jun 14, 2022•40 min•Season 1Ep. 48
A sermon given on Trinity Sunday, 2019 at St Thomas' Church, Finsbury Park, London.
Jun 12, 2022•19 min•Season 1Ep. 47
This was the opening keynote talk at the 2021 Mystics and Scientists Conference, hosted by David Lorimer and presented by the Scientific and Medical Network (https://scientificandmedical.net). The entire conference is available on their channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLHvmUdBmYuqOh0wtGrS73A
Jun 07, 2022•1 hr 20 min•Season 1Ep. 46
For five years Rupert was the Director of the Perrott-Warrick Project, administered by Trinity College, Cambridge, for research on unexplained human and animal abilities. Recorded at Cambridge University on February 9th, 2011. Field observations have suggested that wolves and other wild animals may communicate telepathically over many miles, and surveys have shown that about 50% of dog owners and about 30% of cat owners believe that their pets may respond to their thoughts or silent commands. Am...
May 31, 2022•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 45
Dartington Great Hall, Devon, January 28, 2015. Rupert talks about his own spiritual journey, and about the contemporary cultural, intellectual and social movements leading to a rediscovery of God.
May 24, 2022•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 44
Rupert talks about archetypes, Jung’s collective unconscious, ancient Greek and Jewish philosophies about reality, Sir Francis Bacon, mechanistic science, progressivist views of Darwin, big bang cosmology, multiverse theory, the Hindu and Buddhist world views, and how they all relate to the idea of memory in nature. Recorded at the UK Council for Psychotherapy, Nov 26th, 2014.
May 17, 2022•1 hr 21 min•Season 1Ep. 43
What do you believe the memory is comprised of in holy places? Is it energy or something else? Everything in nature, according to modern science, depends on form and energy. If you have form without energy, its virtual, it doesn't do anything. Without the flow of breath, you can't have speech. Similarly, without energy, forms are static, lifeless, inert. So it is with holy places; through our senses we readily experience the forms, textures, scents and sounds of a place. But many also experience...
May 12, 2022•6 min•Season 1Ep. 42
All cultures, as far as I know, have holy places. Our ancestors were hunter-gatherers, by their very nature nomadic, and seem to have carried out ceremonies at holy places like Lascaux and Chauvet caves. When people settled in the Neolithic, starting twelve thousand years ago, they were building ceremonial structures, including standing stones and stone circles. Some were built before settled agriculture began. Even in atheist regimes where there's an explicit denial of the sacred and of the hol...
May 10, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 41
Thomas Fairchild was a pioneering plant breeder who lived in Shoreditch, in the East End of London. When he died in 1729, he left a legacy for a "Vegetable Sermon" to be preached each year in Shoreditch Parish Church in the week following Pentecost on "the wonderful works of God in creation". Recorded on May 15, 2015. Sorry for the poor quality of this recording. It was improved with de-essing and reverb noise reduction, but only so much could be accomplished.
May 01, 2022•42 min•Season 1Ep. 40
Rupert speculates on the possibility that stars are conscious, given not only the complexity and dynamism of their electro-magnetic activity, but also that all traditional cultures have taken it for granted that the Sun is alive and intelligent. Recorded at the Electric Universe conference in 2018 on July 7th, Bath, UK. Rupert’s technical paper on the consciousness of the sun was published on April 6, 2021 in the Journal of Consciousness Studies . https://www.sheldrake.org/files/pdfs/papers/Is_t...
Apr 26, 2022•45 min•Season 1Ep. 39
A question to Rupert from Ali-Reza Omidvar of the Oxford Psychedelic Society; March, 2022. https://oxpsysoc.org/ Don't you think there is a kind of a philosophical principle: that a community of people who have had more states of consciousness are a more qualified community to give judgments on reality? Not to say that their judgment is right and accurate, but just to say that, for example, the community of Hindu mystics and shamans. That community is better qualified, because they have experien...
Apr 19, 2022•11 min•Ep. 38
Easter and Passover are closely linked festivals , and this year they overlap, with Passover beginning on Good Friday, April 14. Both are rooted in ancient traditions of blood sacrifice, which in turn has its evolutionary roots in the behaviour of predators; when they have killed one prey animal and have enough to eat, the others are safe for a while. The death of one protects the others. These archetypes run very deep in many religions and cultures. They are still with us today in secular socie...
Apr 14, 2022•7 min•Season 1Ep. 37
